Cyberattack: Files of 40K+ Federal Workers Breached

The government confirmed yesterday that more than 40K federal workers files may have been compromised during a hack of federal contractor Key Point Government Solutions. The firm conducts security background investigations of workers at federal agencies.

This is the second breach this year at firm handling government security issues.

Concerned that some data might have been exposed, the Office of Personnel Management has begun notifying the workers that their files were in jeopardy. Nathalie Arriola, speaking for the personnel office, said it will offer credit monitoring at no cost to those affected by the breach.

Key Point became the largest firm handling the governments security investigations after United States Investigative Services (USIS) lost their government contract following a cyberattack.

The USIS breach, similar to previous hacking episodes traced to China, tainted the files of at least 25,000 Department of Homeland Security workers and prompted the personnel office’s decision to halt all of USIS’ government field work. That move led to the cancellation of more than $300 million in contracts with USIS.

Arriola said her agency is continuing to work with the agency, despite the hack. “KeyPoint has worked closely with OPM to implement additional security controls,” Arriola said.